


In the dark of the forest

by orphan_account



Category: Slender (Video Game), Slender Man Mythos
Genre: Horror, Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-02-25
Updated: 2015-03-16
Packaged: 2018-03-15 00:18:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,649
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3430946
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Slender Man has his heart set on taking children.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. It begins

Amelia Pearson smiled sleepily at her playing children. She lived on a farm, and her husband was busy, getting all the cattle in order. She was not one for hard work. She preferred to do the cooking. In a way, her and her family were very old fashioned.

She had soft blond hair, and tanned skin, but that was due to her large amount of time dozing away in the sun. Her pale blue eyes were friendly, and she gave off a warm persona. Her children, Leon, Arthur, Percy, Amelia and Mary all ranged between 16, and 5, Leon being 16, Arthur and Percy were 14 (and a half, as they proudly reminded everyone), Abigail being 8, and Mary being 5.

Leon was out with friends, having had an argument with his Father earlier in the day, and stubbornly riding out to town to vent with his friends. Amelia sighed. Leon was so unlike his father. His father was a ‘man’s man’ and believed that men ought to be doing hard work, like being a mechanic, or a farmer, or a police officer. None of this ‘art crap’ as Roger Pearson (Amelia’s husband) put it.

Leon, however, was set on becoming a graphic designer.

That was Leon’s passion. Art. He wanted to be the next Picasso, or the next Van Gogh.

Although the two men, Roger and Leon (Amelia already considered her boy a man), looked alike in appearance, they were as different as different could be. They both had dark brown hair, and hazel coloured eyes. Broad shouldered, narrow waist, and a toned physique due to the long hours spent working out on the farm.

Arthur and Percy were the next Weasely twins. They were both mischevious, and God forgive her, were ‘devilish little bastards at time,’ as Amelia often muttered under her breath after their latest pranks. They both had Amelia’s blond hair and their father’s hazel eyes. They were also tanned, and were beginning to develop their father’s physique. Both were thin, and strong, from hefting hay onto the back of the truck.

They had no idea what they wanted be yet, and Amelia and Roger accepted that. 14 (and a half) was too young to be deciding what you wanted to be.

Abigail (or Abby) was top of the class, and wise beyond her years. The 8 year old spoke like a 50 year old. She had wide, intelligent blue eyes, and a calm exterior. Amelia sometimes worried about her child’s seriousness. But, the girl knew how to lighten up, too. Something Amelia was eternally glad for. Her blond haired angel would laugh, and giggle like an immature 8 year old, and Amelia would forget that Abby had a serious nature.

Mary was adorable. The dark haired girl had cheeky eyes that only little kids can get away with. She always wore her curly hair in two plaits, probably the only reason her hair was curly. She had one hazel coloured eye, and one blue eye. Amelia had worried about her baby girl being bullied at school because of it, but the first day of primary school had come and gone, and she had no problems.

Mary and Abby were playing now. Abby adored Mary, after an initial resentment of her. Arthur and Percy were playing not far away, tossing a ball to each other. It was a warm Saturday afternoon, and Amelia was tired. Roger was out, feeding the cattle or something. That was his way of venting. Go out on the farm and work off your rage.

Amelia closed her eyes, and there she drifted off, something she would come to regret.

As the shadows began to lengthen a strange sense came over the yard. Arthur and Percy straightened. A chill seemed to sweep over the yard, despite it being the middle of summer. Abby was quiet, and she too stood. Mary giggled in delight, as she caught a butterfly. Noticing her siblings silence, she too quietened, and saddened, let go of the butterfly, believing she had caused it.

She thought Abby, Arthur and Percy had gone quiet because Mary had caught the butterfly, and she knew how much her siblings loved butterflies.

But that wasn’t the cause.

“Mummy?” Abby whimpered. Their mother was fast asleep, almost as if she were dead.

“What’s hap- happening?” Mary asked, struggling to get her mouth around the big word.

“Something’s out there,” Arthur said, his voice detached.

“It’s cold,” Percy whispered in fear.

“What is it?” Mary asked, annoyed at being left out. Little did she know, to be left out would be being saved, from a fate far worse than her siblings being annoyed at her catching a butterfly.

To be left out, would ultimately guarantee her life.

“We don’t know,” Abby whispered, her young, usually so calm and strong voice guaranteed.

“Why won’t Mummy wake up?” Mary asked. Her childish innocence would soon dissipate over the hours.

“I don’t know,” Arthur said, his voice still distant, his eyes glazed over. Being the oldest (by a whole minute and a half), he felt some degree of responsibility. But he had a nagging suspicion as to what it was. He had heard the rumours.

Rumours of a strange being. A strange being that took young children, and slaughtered anything mercilessly that got in its way. He glanced first to his twin, Percy, and felt his stomach clench. His twin and he were too old for this being.

The two would be slaughtered. Slaughtered without remorse or even a flicker of emotion.

Then he glanced at Abby and Mary, who were huddling closer together. They would be taken.

His mother? She was asleep, and something told Arthur that this was no natural sleep. This sleep was brought on by the strange coldness sweeping over him and his siblings. This coldness that penetrated the bones, freezing one’s insides.

_But, weren’t they just rumours? Just stories? All fiction, no fact?_ Arthur tried to reason with himself. It wasn’t true.

Except, as his heart hammered violently in his chest, beating against his ribcage, like an out of rhythm drum, he knew it couldn’t be anything else.

He glanced back to Percy, and knew that his twin was thinking the same thing.

“We won’t let it take them,” Arthur murmured.

“Not without a fight,” Percy growled.

“Won’t let what take who?” Mary whined.

“Shh, keep quiet,” Abby hushed.

“Go try and wake Mum,” Percy ordered.

“Why?” Mary cried.

“Just do it,” Arthur said, his voice slightly harsher than he had intended.

“I’ll go grab Dad’s golf set,” Percy offered.

“Find his shotgun, if you can,” Arthur told him, scooping up the ball and the bat, he had lying out the front. In the distance, he could only just make out the figure of a vaguely human being, suspended on long, tentacle like things. The most definitive thing about the vague silhouette was the crimson red tie that could be seen. The rest appeared blurred whereas this stood out, almost like a beacon.

Arthur refused to turn his back on the being.

He knew what would happen. Mary and Abigail would be taken.

Taken, never to return.

And him?

Ice cold fear flooded through his veins, and for a moment he felt he would go insane, from the sheer adrenaline rush.

He let his imagination get out of hand – or was that the strange being’s influence?

He envisioned his bleeding corpse strewn out on the ground, partially dismembered, his bloodied arm on the other side of his lawn, his shredded index finger lying halfway between his dismembered arm, and the gory scene of his body.

His eyes flew wide open, and his pupils dilated, to almost pinpricks.

In that moment, before what little remained of his sanity was completely torn apart, he heard three words whispered in his ear.

_The slender man._


	2. The deal

Percy rounded the corner of the house, and he saw his twin, whom he loved so dearly, kneeling in the grass, laughing hollowly. It was the laugh of a mad man.

“He’s come,” Arthur laughed, over and over again. Percy felt as if his stomach was being held in the tight embrace of an angry fist, that was squeezing and pulling it. He felt like two claw-like hands were striving to tear it apart.

“He’s come for you,” Arthur laughed, turning to Amelia and Mary, stretching out the word you. Abby burst into tears right then.

Mary was already crying, but she had enough common sense not to wail aloud.

Tears streamed down the faces of the two girls, and in shock, Percy realised down his cheeks as well.

Arthur laughed continuously. His empty laugh echoed through the clearing where their home, their only supposed safe place in this big cruel world, was built.

_Home._

_What did that even mean anymore?_ Percy thought to himself. This wasn’t supposed to be invaded by strange happenings that threatened the life of him and his siblings.

It was always his safe haven. When him and Arthur were being bullied at school, home, was where he got to go at the end of the day, and feel safe.

Now?

Now nowhere was safe.

Percy clenched his jaw together, hardened his gaze, and pulled out his father’s biggest golf club. He pulled out his father’s iron, and, bracing himself, stood, ready to attack the bastard that threatened him and his family.

He turned, slowly, in an 180o circle, looking for whoever – _what_ ever – it was.

And then, he saw, in the distance a dark silhouette of what looked like a man, held up by tentacle-like things that were latched into the ground. The only definite thing about the blurry silhouette was the bright red tie. Even from such a distance – and it must be noted that it was even closer than when Arthur saw it – Percy could make out the crimson red tie that looked almost like the colour of blood.

Weighing the iron out in his hand, he lifted it up, and bringing his arm back, aimed, and threw it.

It spun through the air, and, although he didn’t see if his aim was true, he heard what seemed like an angry noise.

Percy picked up another club, he didn’t take notice of what kind, and froze. It felt like his mind was being attacked.

It felt like a million spears were being jammed simultaneously into his skull, and then twisted and rammed through his head.

He saw his mother, her abused body lying strewn on the floor, her throat slit, and her eyes gauged out. He saw his father’s body lying half a meter away from his father’s head. He saw Leon missing a bloodied arm, his jaw wrenched open, gushing blood. Arthur, dead, his finger and arm strewn across the yard.

Abby and Mary? They were gone, the white ribbon in Mary’s ponytail stained with blood, hanging on a branch.

Percy dropped the club. He could hear people calling to him, but he didn’t recognise the voices. They belonged to girls. He knew that much.

He stumbled around to the shed, his eyes glazed over as if in a trance. He had no more control.

He was gone, even further than his twin.

He stumbled out to the small shed where his father kept the guns, and pulling down his father’s shotgun, loaded it, and placed the barrel of it in his mouth.

His eyes widened as he pulled the trigger. The split second between the trigger being pulled, and the bullet taking his life, he was given full control. Complete and utter control over himself.

His sanity was restored.

And in that split second, where he was no longer out of control, no longer insane, all he heard was three whispered words, echoing around inside his skull, before the bullet slammed into his skull, killing him.

_The slender man._

~    ~    ~

Abigail and Mary heard the blast, before they made it to the shed. Abby gulped. She was in charge now. She had to keep her and Mary together, and alive.

Abby shielded her baby sister’s eyes, as she peered into the shed.

Percy’s blood was strewn across the wall, and Percy’s crumpled and broken body lay in a pool of blood and gore.

Abby led Mary past the door, and out towards the back yard.

She just had to slowly make it to her Father, and she would be safe, right?

“Where are we going?” Mary whispered.

“Away. To find Daddy,” Abby answered as quietly as she could, in case _it_ could hear her.

_‘There’s no use,’_ she heard a raspy voice whisper through her head. It had a malicious kind of glee to it, and she felt ice cold fear run through her.

_No._ she thought. _I must be strong._

_‘Why? I’m only going to get you. In the end, you will be mine. You, and your sister,’_ she heard it whisper in her mind.

Abby took her sister’s hand. “Don’t look behind you, okay?” she whispered.

Mary nodded obediently. She had picked up on the seriousness of the situation.

There was a flash of red in the corner of Abby’s eye, and she saw a blurry figure, with a crimson red tie.

It was human like, supported on tentacles reaching into the ground. That wasn’t the scariest part though. It wore a suit, and looked like a human hanging limply on the tentacles, but where its face was supposed to be, there was nothing.

Simply nothing.

Just a blank area. Almost like the light around the features were sucked away, and the colours were absorbed. No shadows, just nothing.

_‘I am the Slender Man, and you are mine,’_ it whispered into their minds.

“Can we make a deal?” Abby called out desperately, feeling her mind start to go, her sanity to slip away.

_‘What kind of deal?’_ She could hear the interest in the Slender Man’s voice, pausing the assault on her mind.

“We could play a game. If we win, we go free,” Abby said informatively.

_‘And if I win?’_

“What do you want if you win?”

_‘I want you. You and your sister,’_ it answered possessively. Abby shivered, but kept her calm. She felt tired, and slightly sick, staring directly were the Slender Man was. _‘I want you to be my Slender Children.’_

“Can’t Mary be left alone? She’s only little,” Abby argued

_‘The younger the better. They last longer.’_

Abby shivered again. “Would we have become Slender Children even if you hadn’t have agreed to this deal?” Mary asked curiously. Abby froze.

_‘No, little one. To become a Slender Child you must agree to it. Without this deal, you would have become a Lost One,’_ it sounded kind, almost, as it explained this to Mary.

“What’s a lost one?” Mary asked.

_‘A Lost One is a child lost to me. They are the ones who are never seen again.’_

“What happens to them?”

_‘I take them away.’_

“Where to?” This time it was Abby who asked.

_‘Elsewhere. Do you wish to take on this deal or not?’_

“What’s the game?” Abby asked.

_‘Hide. And seek. You, young ones, must hide from me, and seek out 8 pages, drawn by 8 different Lost Ones. Each page unlocks part of your way to freedom. Meanwhile, I will hide from you, and seek you out at the same time. I will not stop you though. Only delay you. You will have until sunrise to find all 8 pages.’_

“Can we leave Mary out of this?”

_‘She may stay here, in a motionless state, invisible to all, until one of us have won.’_

Abby nodded, satisfied. The Slender Man had not moved since she had been looking at him, but now she felt a dark fog descend over her, and she fell into the fog’s outstretched arms, falling asleep.

With a start, Amelia Pearson woke.


	3. Come play

Amelia stared in horror at the laughing boy that vaguely resembled her son. Her beloved Arthur.

“He took them,” he sung maniacally. “They’re gone. You’re never getting them back.”

Arthur’s hollow voice echoed throughout the yard, and Amelia trembled. “Arthur, where’s Percy? And Abby? And Mary?”

“Look in the shed,” he sung, stretching out the work ‘look.’ And then he laughed, his maniac laugh seemed to echo back to her, seemed to surround her. Amelia wandered around to the shed, her hands shaking uncontrollably.

Bracing herself, she peered in, and screamed.

“Percy!” she stammered, and collapsed to her knees right there.

The blasted off remains of his head were still attached to his body, although a large portion of it was splattered against the ceiling, the wall, and the floor. The gun hung out of his now disfigured jaw, and he stared up, his glazed over eyes still looked horrified, as if only just realising the severity of his actions.

Suddenly everything was silent. For a moment Amelia wondered what had happened, but then she realised she had just stopped screaming.

Amelia stumbled out of the shed, and emptied the contents of her stomach out onto their freshly cut lawn.

And still Arthur’s hollow laugh echoed throughout their clearing.

                             ~                           ~                            ~

_"Where am I?" Mary's scared voice echoed throughout the dark room._

_"You're here," what seemed like a thousand child-like voices whispered. Their voices echoed around the room, caressing the walls._

_"I know that," Mary whined, crossing her arms in front of her chest._

_"Then why did you ask?"_

_"Because I don't know where here is!"_

_"We don't either."_

_"Who are you?"_

_"We're the_ Lost Ones. _"_

_In front of Mary small figures appeared, and Mary squinted to see what it was. They looked human enough, but they had awful disfigurements, and where their face ought to be, there was nothing._

_They approached Mary slowly, and their arms stretched out, their hands caressing her arms._

_"You're so pretty," they whispered, their voices seemed to brush over her, and she cringed._

_"Do you want to play with us?" they asked._

_"No," Mary whispered, stepping back. Slimy tentacles seemed to wrap around her, and she screamed._

 

                            ~                           ~                            ~

 

Abigail looked up at the sky, blinking slowly. It was night time. Dark clouds obscured the stars that twinkled back down to earth.

_'Time to play'_ she heard the Slender Man whispered into her mind, his voice seeming to caress her skin. She shivered, and slowly stood up.

_'All 8 pages before dawn, and you win.'_

And with that, the Slender Man's eerie voice disappeared from her mind. Abby stood, and looked around. Lying at her feet was a flashlight, and she picked it up.

"How convenient," she said. She had heard that word the other week, and it was now one of her favourite words.

She flicked it on, to reveal eucalyptus trees surrounding her. They towered above her, and she looked around slowly. A wire fence with barbed wire above it was behind her, and behind it was a hill, with a building on it. She could see lights on, and was tempted to call out to them. But she knew _he_ was watching.

She also knew her sister's life hung in the balance.

She started walking along the fence slowly turning and walking into the middle of the forest.

She heard rustling in the leaves, and her eyes flickered towards the sound. Her pulse sped up, and she felt her chest tighten.

She saw nothing. Her breathing slowed down to a reasonable pace, and she closed her eyes briefly.

She was scared. She wanted her Mummy.

Abby opened her eyes slowly, and started walking again, trying to keep calm. The darkness of the forest seemed to suffocate her, demanding her attention. It seemed to devour her, and the weak beam of light coming out of her torch.

And all the while she could feel _his_ presence.

Although he never said anything, although when she turned and looked behind her slowly, she could feel _him._ It felt like his tentacles reached to her, slowly caressing her mind.

She shivered, and kept walking forward, the cool night air seeming to bite at her skin.

Presently she came towards a wide dirt path. She followed it slowly, curious.

_'Don't follow the path'_ she heard _him_ whisper in her mind, his voice taunting her.

Abby ignored him, and walked along the path, her wide eyes scanning the forest around her.

She swung the flashlight in a slow, wide arc in front of her as she walked, lighting up trees. In front of her a giant tree appeared. She looked up, and almost screamed. A demonic face stared down at her, laughing at her misfortune.

The large branches shook in the air, and the face laughed.

Abby closed her eyes, and hugged herself.

"It's just a tree," she whispered repeatedly.

_'Is it? Is it really just a tree?'_ The Slender Man murmured.

"It is!" she cried, and started circling the thick tree. His voice once again withdrew from her mind.

She saw something fluttering in the wind, and realised it was a piece of paper. She ran towards it, stumbling over her own feet in her haste to get to it.

She took a step back when she saw it. A large circle was in the centre of the page, with two crosses roughly where eyes would be if it were a face.

_'Watching'_ was written above the circle, and _'No eyes'_ was written below it.

Abby swallowed nervously, and she reached up to pull the piece of paper off of the tree.

_'Now it gets harder_ ,' his silken voice caressed her skin, and she felt the hairs raise along her arms.

 


	4. Gone

_"Are you joining us?" the childish voices, as their hands stroked Mary's bare arms, whispered. Mary shivered, entrapped in the cold, wet grip of the slimy tentacles._

_"No!" Mary yelled. "My sister is going to save me!"_

_"Who's your sister? Is she joining us?"_

_"She's Abby, and she's playing with the Slender Man," Mary yelled. "If she wins Abby and I are going home."_

_The voices whispered something incoherent, and all that could be heard echoing around the dark chamber was the whispers of the Lost Ones._

_And a part of Mary's sanity broke off and flew away._

 

                            ~                           ~                            ~

 

Roger frowned as he drove down the driveway to his house. Arthur was kneeling in the grass, laughing.

_'Why is he laughing?'_ Roger wondered, _'In the dark?'_

And then his wife, Amelia stumbled around the corner of the house, clearly distraught.

Roger stopped the car, a wave of concern and fear washing over him.

"Amelia!" he called, running to her.

"P-p-percy's dead," Amelia sobbed.

"What?" Roger said, stopping mid-stride.

"Dead. He killed himself!"

Amelia flung herself into her husbands arms, almost bowling him over.

"Where are Mary and Abby? What's wrong with Arthur?"

"Mary and Abby are gone," Amelia whispered.

"Where? Gone where? Did you take them to Mum?!" Anyone could hear the desperation in Roger's strained voice. He wished for that to be all, for them to be with their Gran.

"I don't know, they've disappeared," Amelia cried.

"He's taken them," Arthur sang, finally getting off his knees. He skipped over to his parents, a wide grin plastered on his face, terrifying Roger and Amelia.

"Who?" Roger demanded, disentangling himself from his wife, and towered over his obviously crazy son.

"The Slender Man," Arthur sang. Arthur took a step towards his mother, and in terrified silence she stood there, motionless. He put his hands on her arms, and almost seemed like a comforting son for a moment.

Until he opened his mouth.

"This, is all _your_ fault. If _you_ hadn't have fallen asleep, none of this would have happened. It is _your_ fault. If _you_ hadn't have fallen asleep, Mary and Abby would be right here, right now," he whispered menacingly, still smiling, but there was something wild and desperate in his eyes, trying to communicate with his mother. "If _you_ hadn't have fallen asleep, Percy -" his voice suddenly took on a strained, almost broken tone, "Percy would still be alive. If _you_ hadn't have fallen asleep, I-" his voice cracked as he whispered this last sentence, stumbling over his own words, "If _you_ hadn't have fallen asleep, I would still be sane. I would not be crazy. This, all this, is _your_ fault."

During this, Arthur's nails had dug into his mother's arms, leaving small pin pricks of blood beginning to well up.

"That's enough, boy!" Roger yelled, pulling his son off of his wife, punching him in the jaw.

Roger felt momentary guilt, but then, as cold realisation dawned on him, this was _not_ his son.

This was a maniacal monster.

Arthur stared up at Roger in shock. And then, as the blood began to flow down his face, he laughed.

His laugh pierced the still air, sending shivers down Roger and Amelia's spines.

 

                            ~                           ~                            ~

 

Leon waved to his friends, now driving off.

They had been nice enough to drop him off at the end of the driveway, so all now he had to do was walk down the long dirt road to his. His mum would probably scold him for coming home so late, and his dad would probably grunt when he saw him, Leon reckoned.

Leon got angry just thinking about his father.

Why couldn't the old bastard just see that he wasn't going to be a man in the sense his Dad wanted him to be?

Leon took his anger out on a rock, kicking it angrily down the path.

He heard laughter as he approached the house.

Leon looked up, and frowned.

The house was dark, which was unusual. No lights were on. His Dad's ute was stalling on the side of the path, the lights still on.

"Mum? Dad?" Leon called out, seeing what looked like two people hugging and supporting one another.

"Leon!" his mother screeched, flying at him. She hugged him, and he could feel her sobbing into his chest.

"My baby, my only baby left," she whispered, stroking his hair, his cheek.

"What's going on?" Leon asked, when he saw his dad's tear-stained face. "Why's Percy laughing?"

"Arthur," Arthur corrected on the grass, grinning like a fool.

"P-p-percy," Amelia sobbed.

"What's happening?" Leon demanded.

"Percy's dead," Roger said solemnly.

"What?!" Leon yelled, stepping back, shaking his head.

"Percy shot himself," Roger said.

"Not Percy, the Slender Man," Arthur sang.

"Where's Mary?" Leon demanded. Mary was his favourite. His baby sister. "And Abby?"

"Gone," Amelia sobbed.

"Gone where?"

"They're missing."

"Have you called the police?" Leon asked, barely restraining the fear and anger.

"Just before you got here," Roger whispered. His tough façade that he had built up ever since he was a boy was crumbling, falling.

"How could this happen?" Leon asked.

"It's all _her_ fault," Arthur said, pointing to his mother.

"What's wrong with Arthur?"

"He's not Arthur anymore. He's -" Roger started.

"He's still Arthur!" Amelia interrupted.

"Just insane," Arthur said in a sing-song voice.

"How did this happen?" Leon whispered.

"I fell asleep. When I woke up, Abby and Mary had disappeared, Arthur was like this and Percy was d-d-dead," Amelia wailed.

"No. Percy can't be dead."

"He is. He's in the shed."

Leon broke away from his mother, despite her pleas for him not to look, not to subject him to that, and ran to the shed.

He froze when he saw his brother's fallen body. Leon fell to his knees next to his little brother, next to what remained of Percy. The shed smelt of dried blood, slightly rank flesh, and piss.

"No," he whispered, placing his hand over his brother's still heart, checking for a pulse, even though he knew he wouldn't find one. He just had to look at his brother's head for confirmation. Confirmation that he would never be waking up.

His brother's body was cold to the touch and firm.

"Percy," Leon whispered, his voice cracking.

His broken voice filled the shed, despite being ever so quiet.

"Percy."

 


End file.
